Welcome to Bluedot Los Angeles! Every other Sunday, we will share stories about local changemakers, sustainable homes and yards, the nature all around us, planet-friendly recipes, and advice from Dear Dot. Please email us with story ideas at laeditor@bluedotliving.com. Together, we can make a difference for the blue dot we call home.
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SIMPLE / SMART / SUSTAINABLE / STORIES
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Steve Sutton was working as a biologist for the federal government, collecting data used to regulate fishing in the United States, when he learned that nearly 90% of the seafood in the U.S. is imported from places where the fishing industry is only minimally regulated, if at all. Surprised and motivated by a desire to change the industry, he spent a couple of years traveling around the world to places like Thailand, Central America, and South America in an attempt to better understand aquaculture. The many issues facing the industry quickly became clear to him: Not only does seafood farming contribute to social injustices and modern-day slavery, but it’s
also environmentally unsustainable. Shrimp farming posed a particular issue: Because the volume of shrimp imported into the U.S. is so high, it’s barely inspected. Still, Sutton says, as much as 15% of the shrimp that actually does get inspected is rejected for banned substances. So he decided to take matters into his own hands and founded TransparentSea Farm in Downey, where he raises shrimp in a more sustainable way. Business is booming, and Sutton hopes to open a bigger facility in San Diego in the next year. “We've shown that there's a lot of people hungry for more stuff like this and more of our products,” he says. “So I think we owe it to the mission and ourselves to take the next step.”
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Quick Links |
Skip scrolling! Here’s what you’ll find in today’s Bluedot Los Angeles Newsletter:
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Paid Advertisement from Chewy.com
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Pamper your pet with $20 off essentials when you spend $49 or more at Chewy.
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Native to southwestern China and northeastern Vietnam, the monkey known as the Francois’ langur was named for Auguste Francois, a French diplomat, photographer, and adventurer whose conspicuous mustache may or may
not have played a role in the designation. There are only about 2,000 of the langurs left, and the recent birth of one at the San Diego Zoo is cause for celebration. (Whether zoos are good for animals generally, or simply use conservation as a pretext, is subject of a long and nuanced debate.) Another reason to cheer: the amazing recovery of the island fox. Found only on the Channel Islands, the foxes were nearly extinct just 20 years
ago. These days, though, they roam the campground near Scorpion Cove on Santa Cruz Island after a wildly successful (though sometimes complicated) effort to reintroduce them to their natural habitat. Even better: They’re not afraid of humans and are easy to spot even on a quick trip to the Channel Islands. Bluedot editor Jim Miller recently traveled there and offers his tips on how to make the most of a daytrip to the national park.
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–Illustration by Elissa Turnbull
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Dear Dot,
How bad is it to use my barbecue? Are there good alternatives?
–Lee
Dear Lee,
Dot loves a good grill, a backyard barbecue, a patio party. And while I’m delighted you’re carbon-curious about your grill habits, Lee, the fact is that outdoor cooking in North America makes up just a teensy-tiny part of carbon emissions. What’s more, Dot, as I’ve mentioned before, is Canadian: We Canucks have barely a nanosecond of weather conducive to outdoor grilling, so are more than a little wary of anyone who wants to pry those BBQ tongs out of our hands. After surviving a Canadian winter, we deserve to grill, goshdarnit! But even those of you who barbecue more frequently in more temperate parts of the continent aren’t likely to create an outsized carbon cook-print. In other words, Lee, while I’m happy to grill the experts on how to cut carbon, don’t
sweat your outdoor cooking method too much.
Read the rest of Dot’s answer.
Got a question for Dot? Write her at deardot@bluedotliving.com.
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If you make a purchase through our links, including from Amazon, we may earn a small commission.
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It’s officially summer, and you may have noticed, it’s hot out! The ocean — or lake, river, pool, or cold spring — beckons! If you’re looking for thoughtfully made swimwear, start here. For more, check out our list of Bluedot-Approved Picks for the Beach.
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Men’s Swim
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Champion surfer Kelly Slater’s brand Outerknown makes great-looking clothes, but it’s no surprise that their swim trunks stand out. Each pair is made with a minimum of 85% recycled materials.
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Shop today or
read our review.
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Women’s Swim
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We can’t get enough of Reformation’s new swimwear line, which uses innovative recycled and bio-based materials and features a wide range of cuts, including modest yet totally sexy one-pieces.
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Shop today or
read our review.
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Soy-Based Sandals
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Materials innovations never cease to amaze us. Case in point: the super-comfy sandals made — in the USA — with American-grown soy. The recyclable flip-flops come with a two-year guarantee.
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Shop on Amazon or
read our review.
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Sometimes, a smoothie is the only thing that sounds appetizing — particularly on hot days like the ones we’ve been sweating through lately. Cookbook author and recipe developer Vanessa Seder offers two recipes for thirst-quenching smoothies that, unlike many store-brand varieties, are made with all natural ingredients and little added sugar.
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Self-taught artist Gloria Friedmann has been challenging people to think about how humans contort nature for their own means for more than 40 years. A sculptor and installation artist, she integrates seemingly incompatible natural and
synthetic materials in her artwork, inviting viewers to reconsider their relationship with the natural world. “Under various guises,” she says, “the evocation of nature in my work persists, because I love it and observe it.”
Born in Germany, Friedmann currently lives in France and has staged solo exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and Kunststation in Cologne, Germany. For this latest installation in our Works in Progress series, where we talk with artists whose work deals with ecological themes, she spoke with Bluedot's Lily Olsen about how she became an artist, what her work means to her, and what she hopes people get from viewing her art.
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Hot Stuff |
Summer’s here, and the time is right for … being careful in the heat. Summers are hotter than they used to be, it’s undeniable. And extreme heat can have a variety of negative health effects. But there are also environmentally friendly ways to keep cool, like taking advantage of nature’s AC, or installing hyper-efficient heat pumps, if temperatures just get too hot to handle. Take care of yourself as the mercury rises: Don’t forget to stay hydrated, and always wear your sunscreen!
Thanks for reading, and we’ll be back in two weeks!
–Robin Jones
Do you have a special Los Angeles photo or story to share?
Email laeditor@bluedotliving.com.
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Robin Jones is a Southern California native who served as an editor at Westways magazine for more than a decade. She currently lives in Long Beach and teaches journalism at Cal State Long
Beach, where she advises the award-winning student magazine, DIG MAG. She loves road-tripping across California, especially when the itinerary includes stops in Arcata and Trinidad.
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